You might have noticed that there is no regular posting in this month. Joy Miranda is on vacation leave since December 9, 2006 until January 20, 2007. Nevertheless, soon as she gets back, she will post all the important events and articles for all of us OFWs!

In the meantime, www.sentidokomon.com would like to wish every OFW and tens and thousands of their families a very merry holidays and prosperous new year of 2007!

May God bless us all!

By Carmela Bignotia (OFW Guide)

It is but natural for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to seek for ways on how to make their money grow. Still, OFWs must be very cautious in dealing with any transaction that requires them to shell out large amounts of their hard-earned cash. Falling into the trap of pseudo-investment schemes like Ponzi and pyramiding is equivalent to wasting years of hard work and sacrifice overseas.

One characteristic of pseudo investment schemes like Ponzi and pyramiding is that they both offer quick cash to unsuspecting investors. Ponzi investment scheme looks promising at first because an investor will initially receive high interest made possible by the money deposited by other investors. An investor will then be encouraged to deposit larger amounts of money hoping to earn more. However, the true earner in pseudo investment schemes is the operator. A pyramid scheme is multi-level marketing program that does not market a product or service. Members of the pyramid scheme are encouraged to recruit new members to earn more.

Ponzi and pyramiding are considered illegal because both investment strategies are doomed for failure from the start. The operation cannot support itself because the income generated in Ponzi and pyramiding are solely dependent on the money deposited by the members.

Many Filipinos have been victimized by these scams that a guideline on how to avoid it is necessary:

Warning Signs

It offers quick cash. The scheme sounds too good to be true as it advertises that it is an opportunity where one can get rich fast. It promises quick and high returns for a small investment. It demands payment. New members are required to pay a certain amount.

It requires you to recruit other members. The scheme promises to give commissions for every individual that you will convince to join and invest.

It requires you to purchase a certain product. To earn from the scheme, you have to pay an expensive product or marketing materials.

Reminders

Do not pay for anything or sign any contract without fully understanding of what you are getting yourself into.

Check the credibility of the company where you will invest your money by checking if it is registered in the Philippine Securities of Exchange and Commissions.

Be suspicious of any investment that does not have any detailed information about the company and how the investment works.
 
 
 

By Maria Theresa S. Samante  (OFW Guide)

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) announces that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) will hire 2,000 Filipino nurses to work in the said country.

The recruitment was entrusted by the Ministry of Health of Saudi to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) through the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Applicants for these positions are not subjected to pay for the placement fee.

Qualified applicants are expected to earn 2,250 to 4,000 Saudi Riyals or about Php 30,000 to Php 50,000. They are also entitled to 45 days annual paid vacation, free round trip economy ticket, free housing, yearly renewal contract and free transportation.

Requirements for interested applicants are:
v       Must be graduates of Bachelor of Science in Nursing, with of without experience.
v       PRC license (if Christians, optional for Muslim applicants).

Applications including resumé, detailed job description, if any, six pieces 2×2 pictures, photocopies of school records and employment certificates (past and present) put in a long folder and must be submitted through mail or personally.

Application forms are can be acquired at the Saudi Recruitment Office (SRO) 18 Floor, Banco de Oro Plaza, 8737 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City and at the POEA office located near DOLE along Veterans Avenue.

By Carmela Bignotia (OFW Guide)

The Philippine government recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) with the Spanish government. As a result, a pilot project arrangement creates 100,000 job opportunities for Filipino health care workers in Spain. The news encourages many Filipinos to find a job in this European nation. To guide aspiring workers, the following provides a brief overview of Spain’s employment rules for foreign workers.

Basic Information

v      Capital: Madrid

v      Government Type: Parliamentary Monarchy

v      Languages: Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%

v      Religion: Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%

v      Climate: Mediterranean climate in the southern and eastern coastal areas as well as a temperate climate further inland.

v      Currency: Euro (EUR)

v      GDP per capita): 25,500

v      Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism

v      Exports: machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods

v      Major Industries: Agriculture, Cement, Chemicals, Engineering, Fishing, Food Processing, Forestry and Timber Products, Iron and Steel, Mining Manufactures, Metal Processing, Petroleum Refining, Transport Equipment, Wine Making, Yarns and Textiles.

Minimum Wage: 631 Euro per month or Php 41,480 per month

Job Opportunities

Many rich families in Spain are looking for household help such as housekeepers, cooks, and drivers.

Hotels, bars, and restaurants are in need of hotel staff from hotel managers to kitchen helpers.

Other job openings are for English teachers and health care workers.

Employment Concerns

Discrimination of foreigners is uncommon. Majority of Spanish employees accepts the presence of foreign workers and works with them peacefully. Learning a little conversational Spanish will greatly help in communicating with the locals. Proficiency in the Spanish language is definitely an advantage because most high-paying occupations require fluency in Spanish.

Among members of the European nation, Spain has the lowest percentage (less than one percent) of workers receiving minimum wage. The Spanish Ministry of Labour (Ministerio de Trabajo) must approve employment of foreigners who are not from countries belonging to the European nation states. A working visa must also be obtained prior to entering Spain. Make sure you get an official work contract from your employer.

Read and fully understand the provisions stated in your employment contract. Request a copy translated in English if it happens to be written in a foreign language. A temporary contract in Spain lasts from three to nine months. Working beyond the specified period obliges an employer to offer a long-term contract.

Employment regulations in Spain ensure the well-being of laborers as many provisions are geared to the advantage of the workers. For example, employing a person without issuing working contacts are prohibited. Employer who fails to comply with this requirement have to pay a certain fee.

Workers cannot be fired without a valid reason. A worker who believes he is unjustly dismiss from a job may present a demand for conciliation within 20 days after receiving the dismissal letter. National insurance and tax are deducted from the salary of a foreign worker.

Working hours in Spain includes a 2-3 hour break between 2 to 5 pm. This is what they call siesta. During this time when the sun is at its hottest, companies and establishments closes and reopens in the evening.
 
 

SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. has expressed apprehension that the promise of jobs for Filipino nurses and caregivers in Japanese hospitals and other health institutions “may turn out to be an illusion� in view of the stringent requirements for the hiring of foreign medical professionals and the vigorous objection to their entry by the Japanese Nursing Association (JNA).

In exchange for the liberalized entry of Japanese goods into the Philippines, including industrial waste under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa), Tokyo has allowed Japanese hospitals to recruit Filipino nurses and caregivers but not more than 400 during the initial year of implementation of the accord.

Pimentel said the strict requirements imposed by Japan are bound to discourage Filipino health workers, who have the option to apply for jobs in other countries where they have better chances of being hired. “I understand the rationale for our nurses to undergo formal training in Nippongo but we find the other requirements exclusive,� he said.

Worse, Pimentel said, Japanese nursing professionals have vowed to block the influx of Filipino nurses and caregivers for fear that this may cause a downgrading of employment standards, including a lowering of compensation. “That seems to be the core of the problem of Jpepa. We are getting less than what we bargained for,� Pimentel said.

According to Pimentel, the Philippines is supposedly promised a certain number of nurses who could go to Japan under the agreement. “But now it looks like we won’t get anything but garbage.� He said it’s obvious that Japanese nurses fear that the entry of their Filipino counterparts may create certain disadvantages for them, including stiffer competition for available nursing positions.

Pimentel said even the Philippine Nursing Association (PNA) is unhappy over the Tokyo’s tight requirements for Filipino nurses which would make it difficult for them to penetrate the Japanese labor market. In a-position-paper on the Jpepa, the PNA feared that Filipino nurses may face a lot of discrimination and are likely to be treated as second-class professionals by being given jobs as nursing assistants. It is said Filipino health workers may even end up becoming entertainers or “japayukis� for lack of better opportunities.

The Jpepa will supposedly allow a year-on-year quota of an unspecified number of Filipino nurses and caregivers who will be employed in Japan. Nurses will be allowed to stay in Japan up to three years, and caregivers, up to four years. However, Pimentel said if it turns out that the requirements imposed by Japan are difficult for Filipino workers to comply with, the treaty sent by Malacañang on November 20 to the Senate may have difficulty getting approved.

Pimentel asked why the Arroyo Government allowed Japan, under the Jpepa, to export toxic industrial waste in blatant violation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal. Pimentel said the government’s assurance that the dumping by Japanese toxic waste materials into the Philippines will not be allowed is belied by the text of the Jpepa itself.

Article 29 of the Basic Agreement of Jpepa provides that the following waste products will be granted a preferential tariff rate of zero percent: ash and residues containing arsenic and mercury; ash and residues from incineration of municipal waste; waste pharmaceuticals ; residual products of the chemical or allied industries; municipal waste including used sanitary napkins and used adult diapers; sewage sludge; clinical waste including used bandages and discarded intravenous syringes; and worn clothing, among other things.

Pimentel said allowing the entry of such toxic waste materials also violates Republic Act (RA) 6969 or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990. (CPB/Sunnex)

By Reynaldo G. Navales (Sunstar Pampanga)

CLARK ECOZONE — After a worrisome slowdown in the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Taiwan due to falsified travel and work documents, Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said plans are underway to establish a pool of displaced OFWs from Taiwan for possible local jobs in Taiwan companies to be put up in Subic and Clark economic zones.

Faked papers abound among OFWs who have exhausted their six-year maximum period of stay in Taiwan and who cannot go back in accordance with Taiwan labor policy.

Brion said this plan was discussed with Taiwanese businessmen during his recent trip to Taipei. He said he welcomes the idea as it underscores the reputation of OFWs as highly dependable and proficient workers.

“Our workers’ exemplary attitude and dedication to their craft has become our global trademark. It has not only propelled us to be one of the most preferred workers overseas but more significantly, it has enticed multinational companies to put up businesses here,” he stressed.

“It demonstrates too the ‘brain gain’ that we derive from overseas employment as these workers will use the experience they secured from working in Taiwan,” he added.

Brion said the department and its attached agencies and bureaus are expected to set up a system for the registration of former Taiwan OFWs within the first quarter of 2007. He said this database may be used by Taiwanese firms in facilitating the hiring of their employees.

Labor statistics show that OFWs in Taiwan easily outnumber other foreign workers in the manufacturing sector, which includes industries such as telecommunications, electronics, audio-visual products, electronic spare parts and peripherals, and electrical manufacturing.

By Nini B. Cabaero (Beyond 30, Sunstar Cebu)

Christmas is the time you wish the family could be whole again. But that wish may not come true this Christmas for at least another million Filipino families.

A report by the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) brought home this reality.

Dole said the deployment of OFWs hit the one million mark in the last 11 months. Even before December, one million Filipinos left their families this year to seek employment abroad.

The one million mark was the target of labor officials in terms of OFW deployment. While positive in that more Filipinos could help their families financially, the sad part about their departure is the spouse or son or daughter left behind.

Undersecretary for Employment Danilo Cruz announced last week a total of 1,011,148 Filipinos left the country for jobs abroad from Jan. 1 to Nov. 21 this year. This number represented a 12.4 percent increase in OFW deployment from the same period last year. These Filipinos went to 180 countries for various types of jobs on land and on sea.

This rise in numbers is despite issues over the qualifications of Filipino nurses, the compensation for domestic helpers, and the ban on the deployment of workers to war-torn countries like Iraq and Kazakhstan.

Cruz said the hike in OFW deployment figures confirmed that the Filipino is being sought abroad for his skills and work attitude.

But what was distressing about these figures was that the Labor department, the same office mandated to oversee the welfare of workers here, does not relate OFW deployment to the reasons why they left.

Any OFW family left behind would rather have the member working abroad back in the country. Lack of jobs, inadequate pay and poor working conditions are what pushed their loved ones to seek jobs in other parts of the world.

While Dole sees the growth in OFW deployment as a positive development, it too is a black mark on its performance in ensuring a good working environment here and in making it worthwhile for workers to stay.

THE Department of Foreign Affairs has started an investigation into the allegations of a lawmaker that some foreign affairs and immigration officials were conniving to sell entry permits and visas to aliens for P500,000 each.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Maglaya said that while the department was waiting for the details on the syndicate exposed by Rep. Robert Barbers of Surigao del Norte, they had asked its Office of Consular Affairs and the Office of Intelligence and Security Services to look into the allegations.

“Foreign Affairs also looks forward to the introduction soon of machine-readable slots electronic passports that could minimize if not eradicate tampering of passports,� Maglaya said. Barbers said the visa-for-sale operation makes the ring inside the immigration bureau the “biggest organized crime syndicate in the country.�

Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez firmly denied Barbers’ allegation and said he was willing to have his office investigated. He added that the bureau does not issue visas, it’s Foreign Affairs that does. (Manila Times)

By Joy B. Miranda

December! Pasko na! How fast the time goes by. I have waited so long for this month to come and yet still all I can do is wait. That is patience, right? I mean, we can not just drag the day to become night at once or you can not make January to be December in a snap so we just have to wait, and waiting entails patience and to be successful on that you must have the right attitude for the waiting.

I believe everyone is excited for this month to come, especially Christians. There is Christmas that everybody looks forward to, especially the kids. Well for me, I am overly excited. Its my Bea’s debut party scheduled on December 17. So I am going home. Although winter has long been started in Cyprus and its really freezingly cold that I keep my room heater almost overnight, still I am so excited to feel the air in my own land again. Ah, I gonna feel this December chill back home with my ever loving family. And as I celebrate the season with the remaining tasks for the year, I will start enumerating the many blessings which God had poured on me. Year-end inventory? whatever. All I know is that the year 2006 has been a very productive year for me.

Let me pick some memorable times this year for the family. I missed being there physically, but its understandable. I keep my base with them by chatting almost everyday, or just calling everyone. My only sister Tiny had her graduation last March at Ateneo de Davao University. Tomorrow she will have her Nursing Board Exam. She was a bit nervous last week when we talked. She confessed that she does not want to fail in this exam because it would upset Mama Terry. I assured her that everything will be fine and just give her best shot then submit it to God. Few hours ago today, I spoke with her again and wished her best of luck. She sounded ready I guess, and yes, confident. I pray all the Nursing Board examinees tomorrow will pass, amen.

Next to mention is the new member of the family, Vynch. I featured this cute little angel here few months ago. I just can’t wait to see him! Anyways, loads of plans to do when I get home, for sure it is a wonderful feeling to be with family again, the only thing in this world which I would not and never would bargain for anything else! It has been so hard bearing the homesickness and that is why I said waiting needs a hell of good patience coupled with the right attitude. Otherwise, you will never get there in good shape.

I guess another opportunity which came up on me just happened yesterday. I joined LR Health and Beauty System company. I got my code today which means that I am now part of the marketing team. LR products came originally from Germany and are now spreading through -out 26 European countries more. As I enlisted myself into this, I look forward to open or launch it soon in the Philippines. I will undergo a special seminar before leaving Cyprus on December 9. Visit www.lrworld.com for more information about this company and its products. I am inviting people to come to Classics Hotel (near Holiday Inn or adjacent to Paphos Gate Police Station) on December 3 at 6:00 p.m. to attend the LR Marketing Business Seminar. I assure you that it will be worth your time listening to the presentation and watching the products at the big projector screen while introducing to you how you can earn more and enjoy more. Well, opportunities come very often but if it really knocks on you door, dont you dare ignore it. We have to earn more and just remember I got myself interested into it so why cant you?  For you who wants extra but unlimited income, this is your good chance. So come join me. E-commerce. Anywhere in the world. Call me +35796501630.